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Migration to America
By Bob Larson
The largest migration in history was the Great
Atlantic Migration. In 20 years from 1890
to 1910, more than 17 million Europeans
migrated to the United States. By 1980 the total
number of people from European regions who
moved and settled in America had reached 37
million. Today there are many different opinions, ideas,
and possible solutions that have been voiced
concerning the massive migration we are now
experiencing in America. My purpose is not
to suggest what steps should be taken when
it comes to limiting or solving the problems
our nation is facing concerning immigration.

The bottom line is that presently millions
are migrating to America. It appears a large
portion of the mission field is coming right to
our doorstep! Many who are migrating to our
homeland are not saved. They have never had
anyone share with them the love of Jesus, and
their greatest need is to trust Christ as their
personal Savior. At the same time, there are
those who are coming to our shores to find
a better life who may already be saved and
could possibly be looking for a New Testament
church where they can worship our Lord. They
will also be seeking Christians with whom they
can fellowship.

Some religious scholars and historians are
now saying one of the biggest challenges our
churches will be facing in America in the future
is not the decline of church attendance but
how will our churches adapt to this increased
migration from around the world? According
to the Pew Research Center, the United States
now has more immigrants than any other
country. People from Latin America and Asia
30 BIMI
Number 2, 2023
make up the greatest number of immigrants to
the United States since 2009.

Maybe we need to be asking ourselves the
following questions:
1 Who is going to show the love of Christ
to these immigrants?
2. Who is going to reach out to them if we
do not reach out to them?
3. Who is going to pray for them if we do
not pray for them?
4. Who is going to care if we do not care?
5. What steps must our churches take to
reach the masses of immigrants?
I am reminded of the reaction Jesus had when
He saw the multitudes in Matthew 9:36–38.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was
moved with compassion on them, because they
fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep
having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his
disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the
labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into
his harvest.

Our inner cities in America have become vast
mission fields with millions of international
immigrants living in them. Church planting
on the metropolitan mission field will never
be an easy ministry, but what a need there is
in this hour for church planting missionaries
to go to our cities—not to see the sights but
to seek souls! At BIMI Reseeding America we
pray constantly for more men with an urban
burden to plant churches in our major cities—
places like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston,
Philadelphia, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,
and San Francisco.